From the
time, I started reading tamil stories, Sujatha became an instant hero …. I
still adore his writings … have seen him a few times standing from a distance,
not having the courage to go near and talk to him, though there were
opportunities…. Sujatha (Srirangam Rangarajan) the famous Engineer wrote so
many novels and stood out for his advanced thoughts …. Many were awe-struck by
story line of ‘Enthiran’ …. But to those who have read his ‘En Iniya Enthira’
and ‘meendum jeeno’ – this was ordinary …. Sujatha kept telling that science
fiction need not necessarily be concerned with rockets and space odysseys. Dark
subjects like the survival of mankind and how it could fight various issues of
today were frequently addressed by
him…..
There are times when the
result is never in doubt but only the manner of execution is…………. – as estimated two billion people around the world
saw at London Olympics, Jamaica's Usain
Bolt blazed once again, burying down any talks of challenge…… it was another Olympic record though his
earlier Word Record remained unscathed.
Usain Bolt is a champion in his own right.
Jurassic
Park released in 1993 directed by Steven Spielberg won many awards ~ it was a science fiction told with
horror. It was based on the novel of
the same name by Michael Crichton… and
getting to know about Dinosaurs - Velociraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid
theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during
the later part of the Cretaceous Period.
The Korea Advanced
Institute of Science and Technology came second in the 2014 Asian University
Rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds and the Chosun Ilbo. This is the
highest placement ever achieved by a Korean university since the rankings were
compiled for the first time in 2009 ~ and the University is in news now……..
Read in their website that the Mechatronics, Systems and Control(MSC)
Laboratory was originally founded in 1986 by Professor YoonKeun Kwak. It is the
largest and one of the most prestigious labs in KAIST and shows its long
history by having produced over 100 M.S. and Ph. D.'s.
It is in
news for the robot Raptor developed by a team from KAIST, can outrun Olympic
runner Usain Bolt. Right now, the Raptor is only capable of running on a
treadmill; but, imagine it running you down, one day when the robots rule the
Earth. Reports state that robot Raptor was inspired by the velociraptor
dinosaurs that have been theorized to be intelligent and ruthless killers,
which hunted their prey in packs. The Raptor the team of Koreans created isn’t
quite as fast as the robot, Cheetah, developed by researchers at Boston
Dynamics, but it can run at close to the same speed, on two legs rather than
four.
The robot Raptor is able
to run on a treadmill. According to CNET, the Raptor can run at 46 kilometers
per hour (kph), or 28 miles per hour (mph). Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, the
fastest known human alive, has a top speed of 44.7kph (27.44 mph). The Cheetah
is even faster than both Bolt and the robot Raptor. It is capable of running as
fast as 47 kph (29.3 mph). This special
robot (don’t imagine Rajni clone Enthiran here – and here is a photo credit
KAIST) runs on two legs while Cheetah runs on 4.
Raptor runs on legs made out of a lightweight
composite material, one motor per leg, and has feet made from carbon-fiber
prosthetic blades. Raptor has a tail to help keep its balance. Presently, it runs only on a treadmill but
reportedly Korean research team is seeking to stabilize it even further, so
that it will be able to traverse any type of terrain, like the Wildcat.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
2nd June 2014.